Land of Sky Blue Waters
by Nymphadora-CullenBAU
Summary: A case in a small Northern Wisconsin lake town has SSA Dr. Spencer Reid reuniting with a familiar face. But contact with this UnSub may change his life & his relationship with Aislinn forever. Ever Present, Because Immortal sequel. C9:Playlist
1. Deadly Outings

_**Hello, all! Hope you're ready for round two!**_

_**Nothing is mine!**_

Sunlight streamed through the trees, turning a slight yellow-green color as it lit up the soil. A man and a woman walked through the trees, laughing as they wove through the greenery toward a break in the seemingly never-ending sea of green. The man is carrying a small blue cooler, and the woman carries a blue and white checkered blanket tucked under her arm.

"Come on, Jackie!" the man called eagerly, pushing aside the foliage to reveal a sparkling blue lake, shining like his equally blue eyes. "The sandbar's right here; hurry up so we can unpack this delicious potato salad!" The wind played with his untidy, shaggy black hair.

"In a minute, Jack," the woman shouted, laughing at her husband, her brown eyes glowing with laughter. "Let me just… Oh…"

"What is it, Hon?" Jack asked, his smile still in place.

Jackie didn't answer.

"Jackie? Jack-Jack? Jacqueline?"

A twig snapped, and a second later a wooden club hit Jack on the back of his head, and he fell to the forest floor, the cooler in his hands falling to the forest floor.

The figure lifts the unconscious man from the ground, and drags him to a black pickup truck waiting by the side of road, where his unconscious wife already lies. Then, as an afterthought, he goes back to the edge of the forest where he picked up the man and retrieves the cooler and blanket, before returning to the truck and driving away.

As he drives, he opens the cooler to reveal a tub of potato salad, two sandwiches, a package of carrots, two cans of Coke-Cola and four Popsicles. He takes one of the cans of Coke and a sandwich out of the cooler before placing it on the floor of the truck.

He takes a bite, eagerly smacking his lips as he does so. These two should be fun.

….

"You know, I don't think I'll ever get used to that haircut."

"Pen, what makes you say that?" JJ was confused.

"Well, it's so… delicious!" Penelope Garcia whispered, gesturing toward the far end of the bullpen. The subject of the conversation in question, Spencer Reid, sat at his desk, apparently working on his last batch of paperwork for the day, his hair, which had recently been cut, looked untidy as it curled in a boyish fashion around his head.

"Speak for yourself," Emily Prentiss muttered as she came over to the mini-kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. "I have to sit across from him every day, and I can barely concentrate on my paperwork; it's like looking at some cute actor from a movie or something."

"It's distractingly delicious," Garcia purred. JJ chuckled.

"He's already got someone though, Garcia," she pointed out.

Emily nodded. "I believe I saw another letter from Aislinn on his desk this morning," she added.

"But I still have my Chocolate God!" Garcia said in a sing-song voice as Derek Morgan walked into the bullpen.

"And we, apparently, have work," JJ replied, producing a small pile of case files from her bag. "Conference room in five."

….

"Jacqueline and Jack Masters, ages 28 and 30, reported missing Sunday evening after they failed to return from a picnic lunch in the woods near Cable, Wisconsin. Their bodies were found Friday evening in a small handmade wooden rowboat on Lake Tahkoda just outside Cable." JJ brought up the crime scene pictures as she spoke, as well as pictures sent in by the victim's family. A young man with untidy black hair and sparkling blue eyes, and a woman with brown hair and brown eyes smiled from the pictures onscreen, the perfect newlyweds. In the crime scene photos, the same couple appeared to have been restrained and beaten, their clothes dirty and torn. Their shoes were missing

"Till death do us part," Rossi muttered softly.

"Got that right," Morgan replied.

"Were there any other victims, JJ?" Reid asked, keeping his eyes averted from the pictures onscreen; instead he glanced down at his right hand, which was fingering an inexpensive silver locket and chain.

"Samantha Riley and Daniel Jacobs, ages 14 and 16; they were cousins out on a hike," JJ pulled up more pictures as she spoke. "And Thomas Watkins and his fiancée Maureen O'Hara, both 23; they went out on a late night drive." JJ turned back to the team. "All three couples left family and friends on three consecutive Sunday afternoons, were reported missing Sunday evening, or Monday morning, and all were found on Friday evenings in handmade wooden rowboats, beaten and tortured. And, before you ask, none of the boats were registered to anyone in the area."

"Actually, they weren't registered at all, according to the report," Reid revealed, looking again at his paperwork. "That means he's good with his hands and more than likely is either unemployed, or is self-employed."

"Either way, he has enough time on his hands to make wooden rowboats, kidnap, torture and kill men and women he finds in the forest, and set them adrift in a small lake on the edge of a national forest." Hotch concluded. "We can't rule anything out, wheels up in an hour."

….

_A/N: I'm BAAAAAAAAACK!_

_Please feel free to leave a review! …Please?_

_*~N_CBAU~*_


	2. Not a Total Vacation

_**WHAT? NO! The BAU team is Ohana! YOU CAN'T BREAK THEM UP! NO ONE BREAKS UP OHANA! (More about that on the bottom).**_

_**Also, MGG is starring on an Improv show, iO West Theatre, airing this Sunday at 9 PM (I think that means 8 PM central time)! SO excited! Here's the link: west (dot) ioimprov (dot) com (periods where the (dot) is, and a slash at the end). Check out the link, and check your TV schedule that night!**_

_**I do not own Criminal Minds. If I did, I wouldn't be breaking up the cast… I might have had Foyet kill Strauss, though! Hahaha….**_

_**But seriously, I wouldn't break them up. CBS doesn't deserve the BAU. My rant is over (for now).**_

….

19 year-old Aislinn Werner sat in the backseat of the family SUV, a split-pea soup green gas-guzzling monster that was usually used for her brother Jake's hockey practices. Today, it was the vacation transport.

Aislinn sighed as she closed her laptop, which had just finished playing "500 Days of Summer," and looked out the window in time to see the green sign that announced that the vehicle was entering Cable, Wisconsin. However, the first buildings of the small, unincorporated lake town wouldn't be seen for another few miles. Not that she didn't mind, but she really wanted to be out of this car. Her body felt strained, her legs and arms needed to stretch, and she was getting cabin fever. Plus, the family Golden Retriever, Linus, was breathing in her face, and it smelled like fishsticks. Then again, it always smelled like fishsticks.

"Hey, Mr. Stinky Fish Face," she told the old dog. "You excited to get out of this car? You want to go swimming and get all sandy, don't you?" She scratched the dog's yellow head, smiling at her own words. "Yeah, me too. Me too."

She sighed and glanced out the window at the solid wall of green evergreens that stared at her. Usually she would be looking for the local landmarks that hailed their arrival to her aunt's small cabin and the local lake, but Aislinn wasn't interested. Instead she was thinking of the St. Catherine University campus, and the events that had transpired there over a single half-week in April.

She thought of the man who had almost (she still shuddered at the realization) killed her, and the FBI agents that had managed to stop the killer, Dudley Griggs, and save her life, as well as the lives of countless other people in the area; Aislinn really had no idea how many people may have had relatives who recently died in St. Paul. Either way, she was still thankful to the agents of the BAU for what they had done. And though she wouldn't admit it to most people, like her brother, who was driving the SUV, or her mother, in the front passenger seat, she was more than grateful to one of them.

For a moment, she closed her eyes, and the face of Spencer Reid swam to the front of her eyelids. She had met him by accident, literally running into him as she ran to a class she was fifteen minutes late for. She had dropped her book of poems, a small black notebook where she wrote haikus and thoughts. Thankfully, she got it back, and had made a new friend in the young genius profiler, even asking him out for coffee. But then Griggs had targeted her, and her life had been in danger. But Spencer had come in, and saved her life, and….

She felt an unconscious smile come to her lips; afterwards, she had received many letters, and had written many more to Spencer. They had kept in contact throughout the rest of her freshman year, and through the summer. Even now, she gripped his most recent letter. He didn't talk much about cases, and she didn't ask; instead, the letters they exchanged were full of the thoughts and opinions of the books they read, the stories and poems she wrote, and his funny stories from the office and of course the occasional funny moment from before or after a case. She had loved it when he wrote about the time Rossi arrived to work in a tuxedo, and had admitted that his new haircut was quite dashing. Meanwhile, he had given her tips on what to pack when traveling in Costa Rica (when Jake had gone there for a school trip), and had recommended the writings of Proust when she began working at the library shelving books, and had admitted to sending her poems and short stories to his mother in Las Vegas; Aislinn already knew about her, and therefore wasn't afraid to ask Spencer how she was.

By now, the SUV had passed through Cable and was headed for Lake Tahkoda. Aislinn opened up the computer and woke it up so she could take the DVD from the disk drive. As she turned away from the screen to place the DVD back in the case, she saw a line of two black Tahoes and a police car drive by in the opposite direction, toward town.

Aislinn watched them for a few more seconds before turning back to the laptop that needed to be shut down, which she happily did. Maybe she could go into town later with one of her aunts; if tonight was a grill night, someone was going to go to town for burgers and buns. Maybe she could stop by The Brick House Café while waiting.

….

"You must be the BAU," a tall older man in jeans and a t-shirt said in relief. "I'm Chief Stalinger, this is Deputy Brown, and welcome to Cable." He stretched out his hand to Hotch as he deplaned. Hotch shook it.

"I'm SSA Hotchner," he began. "There are SSA's Morgan, Rossi, Prentiss, Dr. Spencer Reid and Jennifer Jareau."

"We spoke on the phone," JJ added.

"Well, it's a pleasure," Stalinger sighed. "Do you want to get to the hotel, or do you want to get started?"

"We'll want to get started right away," Hotch said. "Is there a boat launch? We were also wondering if there's anyone in the area who makes handmade wooden boats."

Stalinger nodded. "On the southwest side of the lake, but there are no cameras there, and as far as I know, there's no one in the area who makes handcrafted wooden boats."

"All right," Hotch replied. "I'll have agents Prentiss and Morgan follow you to the morgue. If the press is involved, then we'll want JJ running point there, she and Dr. Reid can join you at the station. Agent Rossi and I will check out the perimeter of the lake."

….

"So I'm the UnSub," Rossi began. "Earlier this week, I kidnapped a young man and woman out for some sort of Sunday outing. Throughout the week, I torture them at my leisure and on my time until I finally kill them. Also, throughout the week, I find the time to carve a handmade wooden boat. On Friday evening, I come here, put the couple in the boat and set them adrift to be found by the public." His foot slid into the muddy shoreline, which caused him to curse colorfully.

"He seems narcissistic," said Hotch, keeping back from the muddy edge of the lake. "He leaves his victims out for everyone to see."

"But he puts them out at night," Rossi added, motioning with his hand as though wiping away the sun. "Remorse, perhaps?"

"It could also be part of his signature," Hotch supplied. "Or maybe evening is the only time on Friday nights he can do such a thing."

"But it's clear that he doesn't have a 9-to-5 job," Rossi pointed out. "We figured that out before we even got here. Which means that he is self-employed. A guy like this wouldn't have the time to make a wooden boat by hand if he was part of a corporate workforce, or employed other people."

"So our UnSub is a narcissistic craftsman who's good with his hands." Hotch concluded.

Rossi nodded "The question is," he observed. "How does he do it, and still remain hidden."

….

Linda East greeted Prentiss and Morgan as they came into the morgue before getting right down to business.

"I noticed that each of the men and the women have the same bruises on their body. Also, their clothes were torn and dirty."

"He kept them somewhere," Prentiss said. "A shack or a basement. Do you think he would've put them in his workshop?"

Morgan nodded in agreement. "He wouldn't want them in plain sight." He pointed out. "This guy's trying to run a business; if he doesn't want to kill his customers, he has to keep his victims hidden. If he's a craftsman, he has to have a separate place to make what he sells. Someplace private. A workshop would be a good place."

"Has to keep them quiet, too." Linda added. "I found adhesive around each of the victim's mouths. Possibly used some kind of tape."

"Duct tape would work," Morgan supplied. "It's strong, hard to get off if you're in a hurry."

"He can make the boats and wooden trinkets while torturing his victims," Prentiss realized. "He doesn't even need a separate building to keep them. Woodworkers have lots of strong, heavy metal pieces of equipment that they use every day to make statues, frames and chairs."

"And some of the cuts on our victims," Linda said, tracing a cut on Jack Masters' shoulder, "Have the exact same blade pattern as a whittling knife."

"Whittling knives are used for making small wooden figurines," Prentiss said. "If someone wanted to, they could whittle a statue, or even stab someone. After all, a knife is a knife."

"Any knife would do for this sort of torture," Morgan said. "And the bruises show that he's not above kicking his victims; he _wants_ to cause these people pain, and a lot of it."

"The boats are his sign of remorse," Prentiss added. "He sets them adrift; he considers it a sort of burial."

"Call Hotch," Morgan replied. "We may have a profile."

….

Spencer Reid found himself walking down the street from the police station to a local coffee shop called The Brick House Café to grab some coffee; the police station coffee machine was either empty or broken, and he didn't feel like making a cup, or trying to see of the ancient and archaic machine in the station actually worked.

Up ahead, he noticed a figure, a young woman walking toward the same destination. He noticed that her hair was brownish-blonde and was short and shaggy. But there was something familiar about the way she carried herself. And the song she was humming under her breath was one Spencer knew well; he'd listened to it many times on one of the CD's that Aislinn had burned for him over the past few months.

He sped up, wanting to catch this girl, to see her. He had to see her.

"Excuse me," he called. The girl spun around, and Spencer's jaw dropped.

"Spencer?"

"A-Aislinn?"

….

_A/N: So I recently heard about CBS' evil plot to cut down on and cut out two of our Criminal Minds women… I say that they CANNOT do that! It's… INCONCIEVIBLE! AJ/JJ and Paget/Emily are both amazing and monumental examples of how women in today's society can do everything that men can do, that us women aren't the types to spend the day cleaning the house, cooking the food and having the children. Plus, Garcia needs her lady friends to go shopping with, and PWON Brad the fake FBI agent with over and over again. And, like I said above, the BAU team is Ohana (And for all of us who know about Disney, we know what Ohana means)! _

_First person to post the meaning of Ohana in a review gets a Spencer Reid life size plushie doll! The Wikipedia verison is okay, but I give full credit for the Disney definition._

_Please review!_

_*~N_CBAU~*_


	3. Reunited

_**First off, I wanted to apologize for an author's note from last chapter; I thought they were going to air the Improv show live (like SNL). Sadly, they didn't… Maybe they'll post something on YouTube or something…. But MGG DID appear on UCB apparently, as a surprise guest… I hope that airs soon, if it hasn't already!**_

_**Posting this quickly; I have Kickball at 6:30.**_

_**I own nothing… Still don't**_

...

Aislinn had ridden into town with her mother, who had wanted to get supplies for grilling that night; all but three of her mother's six siblings were at the cabin that evening, and the current population of Irish-descended family members wanted to have an evening to themselves. So it was no surprise that Molly Robinson-Werner rode into town with her daughter, and two of Aislinn's cousins.

Aislinn's cousin Daniel was tall and broad shouldered, with curly black hair, pale skin and freckles. Her other cousin, Bobby, was tall and thin, with red hair, pale skin and freckles; his body build put her in mind of Spencer, even though she had already been thinking about him since she'd seen the caravan of black Tahoes earlier that afternoon.

Now, she was on her way across the street to The Brick House Café, which was actually in a brick house; a large building complete with a large white porch. It appeared to have at least two floors, but Aislinn had never seen the upstairs; more than likely, there were stairs in the back of the house, in the kitchen or beyond. She drew her wallet from her pocket and saw to her delight that she had about $20 in her budget. She smiled and began humming a Bob Dylan song under her breath; maybe a medium chai latte was in her future….

She was so lost in thought about the last time she'd had a chai latte, with Spencer, that she almost didn't hear the voice behind her.

"Excuse me," the voice called. Aislinn paused for a second, her mind reeling. She knew that voice; she still heard it in her dreams, thought about its owner constantly… but she hadn't expected to hear it so soon….

She turned around and felt an eager smile tug on the edge of her lips. His hair was shorter, and he wore a simple white collared button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a tie, but he was still the same as she'd seen him in April. Her heart fluttered.

"Spencer?" she asked. She realized she would probably look different to him; she, too had cut her hair shorter than it had been in April, and she wore a new pair of glasses, frameless with titanium arms complete with a funky pattern of holes. She still kept her familiar square blue frames for her use, but they didn't see much action nowadays.

"A-Aislinn?" He remembered her. Her heart pounded faster.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!" she cried, running quickly toward him. "It's great to see you!" She wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug.

"Great to see you, too," he replied, also wrapping his arms around her. A moment later, they broke apart, staring at one another.

"I'm guessing you're not here for leisure," Aislinn began hesitantly.

Spencer nodded. "No, actually. We're here for some murders in the area."

"I think I heard about them," Aislinn said. "He carves wooden boats or something; I wasn't really paying attention when they broadcast it; I was watching a movie on my laptop. You don't have to go into the details." She added quickly.

"Don't worry," Spencer replied. "I, umm… I actually came this way for some coffee. One of the officers at the station said there was a coffee shop here with good coffee."

"The Brick House Café!" Aislinn exclaimed. "Yeah… I was just heading there myself… Wanna join me?"

Spencer nodded. "Yeah, I could… for a bit."

….

Morgan and Prentiss arrived at the station the same time as Hotch and Rossi. All four of them walked into the small back room which Stalinger, JJ and Reid had set up earlier. A chalkboard dominated one wall and there was a small window on the opposite wall of the blackboard. There was also a small wooden table, chairs and a water cooler and coffee maker that looked as though it had been taken from the 1950's.

"We think the UnSub is sadistic and a narcissist…"

"He's burying his victims in a sense when he puts them out in the boat…"

"He's clearly unemployed or self-employed; he'd need the time and privacy of that type of job in order to do this…"

"He probably has bought copious amounts of duct tape, most likely from the same place; the coroner found adhesive on the victim's mouths…"

"WHOA, Whoa, whoa," called Garcia's voice from an opened laptop on the table. "When you all speak at the same time, it gives the Mistress of the Information Superhighway, AKA _Moi,_ a headache trying to understand the bossmen, Emmy-girl, and my Dark Chocolate God. Which reminds me, has anyone seen Jayje or my Super-Smart White Chocolate?"

"Reid went out to get coffee," JJ reported as she walked into the room, a small pile of case files in her arms. "He told me that he didn't trust the archaic machine in this room, nor the ancient monster in the main break room. Apparently, there's a coffee shop down the street."

"Do they deliver?" Rossi asked.

"Someone sounds eager." Garcia replied, and the room was filled with laughter.

"I stepped in mud," Rossi growled. "I want coffee."

"I'm guessing the shoes were new," Prentiss added. "Italian leather?"

"Yes, they were," Rossi grumbled.

"You'll get your coffee," Hotch muttered. "But first, it appears that we have a profile to give. Prentiss, call Reid. We need him here now."

….

"….So after I applied for the job at the library, I asked for volunteering opportunities there, too," Aislinn finished. "Now I restock shelves during the summer, and also get to check up ona small section in the fiction section."

"And that was where you found the Proust novel?" Reid asked.

Aislinn nodded; she had just taken a sip of chai latte. "I also started reading _The Catcher in the Rye,_ and I've been eying up some Kurt Vonnegut novels."

"Morgan and Prentiss have read _Slaughterhouse Five,_" Spencer added. "Did the library have it?"

"I can't remember off the top of my head," Aislinn admitted. "But I did see his book _Bluebeard._"

"Anything else?"

"Jules Verne." Aislinn said suddenly. "I'm hoping to start _A Journey to the Center of the Earth,_ and I also saw a lot of Steinbeck. I read _Of Mice and Men_ as a junior in high school, and _The Grapes of Wrath_ is starting to look interesting, too. There's also Anne Rice, Voltaire and I saw a copy of _The Picture of Dorian Gray._"

"That is… astronomical." Spencer admitted, stirring the dregs of his coffee.

Aislinn nodded. "Also, I'm reading Dan Brown's _The Lost Symbol._"

"Did you know that the majority of the historical events of Dan Brown's novel _The DaVinci Code_ are in fact real events?" Spencer countered. "However, there is still some debate among religious scholars as to the existence of a descendant of Christ."

"I think I may have heard something about that," Aislinn replied. "I used to stay up and watch those programs that claimed the world was going to end and they'd quote Bible passages and what not. It was really funny to hear them, mostly because they talk about the world coming to an end, and… well, every time they've said that the world would end, it never does. Not in the 60's, or the 90's and it didn't end in 2000. Who's to say it'll end in 2012?"

"You have a point," Spencer replied, shaking his head.

At that moment, Aislinn's pocket emitted a cheery tune, while Reid's phone began a buzzing vibration on the table.

Aislinn opened up a little pouch that had been hidden in her pocket and produced a small purple cell phone before shooting a pained glance at Spencer and reluctantly answering it with a less than cheery "Hi, Mom… I'm at The Brick House… I met someone from school…"

Reid picked up his own phone and answered quickly. "Reid."

"_It's Emily. Hotch wants you back at the station ASAP. We're giving the profile."_

"Now?"

"Apparently." Emily sounded… annoyed? Exasperated? "I saw the geographical profile you drew up.…"

"Yeah, there was no comfort zone." Reid admitted. "It was just… a random grouping of abduction sites all around the lake. None of the couples had a connection with the other couples, and the only common factors were the UnSub and the lake."

"I know. Right now, Hotch just wants a preliminary profile out so the cops can get this scumbag off the streets before he strikes again."

"I'll be there in a bit." Reid said before hanging up, and turning to see Aislinn also gathering her things.

"Can I go with you?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"I was just wondering," Aislinn explained quickly. "I told my mom I was with you, and that you were in St Paul back in April. She said that I could be with you, as long as you brought me home safely. And," at this point, Aislinn blushed. "And, umm… my mom kinda sorta invited your team to my aunt's place for burgers."

"Really?"

"Yeah…. I guess she really wanted to meet you."

….

_A/N: Congrats to harrietamidala1691__ for giving the definition of Ohana! One life-size Spencer Reid plushie for you!_

_Please review; it makes me happy!_

_*~N_CBAU~*_


	4. A Profile and Dinner

_**I have an important author's note you should read at the bottom of this chapter. It's kind of important that you do.**_

_**BTW, quick question… About rabid kittens... What about if they bite you?**_

_**Again, I own nothing! I'm just… playing with the characters for fun, not profit.**_

….

The profile briefing began in the main bullpen of the Cable Police Department, with Stalinger, Brown and the rest of the force gathered around a small gathering of desks where the members of the BAU now sat. Among the members of the team sat Aislinn, her feet dangling from the desk and her toes barely scraping the floor, her eyes keeping rapt attention on each member of the team as they spoke.

"Our UnSub," Morgan began. "Is a loner. He has his own business where he is self-employed. And his job is also his hobby. He won't leave his home often, but when he does, he usually comes out for supplies for his lifestyle he couldn't get in the wilderness, like groceries, mail, deliveries of certain types of wood that he wouldn't have access to in these parts. Wood that he uses for his trade, and for these murders."

"This man is very good with his hands," Prentiss continued. "The boats he makes for his victim's bodies were very well made, hand-crafted and painstakingly detailed. We believe that it is a sort of burial ritual for him, a sign of remorse."

"Most ancient civilizations would set their dead adrift in wooden boats, especially for members of royalty in the Middle Ages," Reid added, continuing in that vein. "The Norwegians would even set fire to these vessels with flaming arrows as a sign that the deceased was leaving this world."

"However, this UnSub doesn't do that," Rossi continued. "Instead, we believe that he leaves these boats, complete with his victims, to show everyone what he has done. He's mobile; he'd need a vehicle, an SUV or a truck in order to move the victims to his residence and the boats to the lake."

"He's a narcissist," Morgan supplied. "The fact that he leaves the boats out _is _a sign of remorse, but it is also a way for him to show people 'this is my work, this is what I do.' He wants to be noticed. Not only does he take pride in his work with these boats, but he takes pride in everything else he makes."

"He takes his victims on a Sunday afternoon or evening," Reid reviewed. "He keeps them fed and hidden. No one can see or hear them, so he is most likely in a deserted or less-populated area. He keeps them quiet because he's running a business; he doesn't want to kill any of his customers. He needs the money from his business to survive and continue his craft."

"He has a place to keep his victims," Hotch said. "A workshop or storage shed where he has access to the victims and to his projects. Look for small wooden cabins out in the middle of the forest, with little access to the main roads. It'd be places you wouldn't expect. An old log cabin, or some small wooden houses, perhaps with long overgrown driveways. Either way, there'll be more than one building on the property."

"Today's Saturday, so we're expecting him to strike again sometime tomorrow." Morgan concluded. "That's all for now; we'll let you know if you find anything else." He added, dismissing the profiling briefing.

….

"Oh, what beautiful wooden carvings!" the woman exclaimed, holding up a small wooden statue of a man and a woman holding hands.

"Handcrafted," the man replied, sounding prideful. He tipped his hat lower over his face, but not enough to hide his entire face. "I learned the trade from my pa; he showed me how to work the wood. He did well, but…" he trailed off, implying the obvious. The woman ignored him.

"I'll take it. How much?"

"Sticker should be on the bottom, but since you're so… appreciative of my work," he smiled widely, almost grimacing. "I'll give it to you for half the price."

"Thank you!" Molly Werner exclaimed, handing over the money before gently placing the figurine in with the other wooden purchases she had bought from the man. "You know, for some reason, this figurine almost reminded me of my daughter and her… well, for lack of a better term, boyfriend. She met him in April; he's part of an elite team of FBI agents, and they saved her life."

"I think I heard about that," the man replied thoughtfully. "That Griggs fellow… Press called him The Reaper's Reaper. Still do, as a matter of fact."

"Yes. Well, thank you again!"

The man watched for a moment as she drove away before heading back into his shop. It was in a small, one-room rustic cabin that had been split in half by a section of soundproofing painted to mimic the rustic walls. On one side of the wall was the man's shop; filled with wooden trinkets, frames, furniture and statues. On the other side of the wall was his workshop… his haven.

He walked toward a table set up in the middle of the room. On it, among the pieces of wood and whittling knives were numerous pictures. Each of these pictures were of the victims that had gone missing, along with pictures of other couples. The man picked up one in particular, a picture depiction Aislinn and Spencer at the coffee shop. She was smiling at him, while he was talking about something the man had long since forgotten.

By now he had reached a metal pole stuck in the middle of the cabin floor. In the store was a similar pole, used to display the wooden picture and portrait frames he made. This one, on the workshop side, was also for display, but not for frames….

The man fiddled with the handcuffs hanging from the metal pole for a moment before returning to his work.

….

The team was more than happy to take Aislinn's mother's offer to enjoy a dinner of hot dogs and burgers from off the grill. Reid supposed it was a way for her mother to express her gratitude to the members of the BAU.

Aislinn had five aunts and uncles on her mother's side that currently resided at the cabin: Her uncle Tom, a tall man in his fifties with curly black hair, like Aislinn's mother, her uncle Joe, as tall as Tom but with red hair and freckles, and her uncle Daniel, who was of medium build and bald. Then there were her aunts Kathy, a plump, motherly woman with curly brownish-black hair and her aunt Maureen, tall and thin with short black hair. Also among them were Aislinn's in-laws; Mary, a petite blonde who was married to Tom, Isabelle, a tan brunette who was married to Joe, and Daniel's wife Candice, a plump redhead, as well as Kathy's husband Elliot, a man reminiscent of a more carefree Hotch, with shaggy black hair touched with gray, and Mike, a younger man with a receding hairline.

Among the relatives there were a few cousins, too. Reid lost count, and even forgot names, there were so many of them. Aislinn said there were about fifteen or so; two of her relatives were overseas, and their children were studying abroad.

"It's a bit of a madhouse when we're all together," she admitted sheepishly. They had finished dinner; along with burgers, brats and hot dogs, there had been cheese, crackers, salads, beans, vegetables and for dessert… strawberry shortcake. Now, the majority of the younger cousins had drifted away; some were in the house watching a movie, others were playing in the front yard, either in the driveway, or in a small wooden guesthouse off the main house.

"I can see that," Spencer humored lightly.

"Wanna get away for a minute?" Aislinn asked suddenly.

Spencer nodded. The two of them stood up and crept away from the rest of the group on the deck. They walked down a set of wooden stairs from the deck, to another set of stairs, made of stone, to a wooden platform and a small metal dock. On the opposite shore of the lake, the sun was setting, creating a myriad of colors across the sky that was echoed in the peaceful beauty of the lake.

"It's so beautiful," Spencer gasped in surprise.

Aislinn smiled, leaning back on her arms as they leaned away from her body. "It's the best part of the day," she admitted. "I always enjoy coming down here to watch the sunset; it's better than anything else I can think of."

"Is it always this calm?"

"No," she said. "Sometimes there's the odd boat that passes by… Like there." She pointed toward a pontoon boat making its way across the surface of the lake toward the far side of the lake. "But mostly there isn't a soul on the lake. We do happen to do a lot of swimming, though."

Reid blushed slightly at the mention of swimming, and his last experience in the water. "I never really learned how to swim," he admitted.

"I could teach you sometime," she said. "But I'm not really a good teacher."

"That's fine," he murmured. "I just… want to get my bearings."

She chuckled, wrapping her arms around his chest. He replied the same way, resting his chin in her hair.

And there they stayed, watching the sunset together.

….

_A/N: So, a couple chapters ago, I had a sort of 'contest' for you readers. Now I'm not naming names when it comes to this, but I would really appreciate it if you didn't try to threaten me in your reviews. I mean, you can 'throw rotten produce' at me, or 'run at me with torches and pitchforks.' But when you threaten my life, even indirectly, and only for fun, it kinda worries me, and makes me wonder if I'm safe. _

_So please don't say stuff like 'I'll make sure you never write again if you don't bring me (insert actor's name here),' or whatever. Even if you're joking, that makes me think you know where I live, and that your intentions for me are… negative, to say the least._

_That doesn't mean you shouldn't review; I love it when you review. It makes my day, it inspires me to write more, and tells me that there are people out there who spend a few minutes of their time clicking on the link to my story (or stories), reading it/them, and liking it enough to leave me a note admitting that they __**have **__enjoyed it, or to say that I should improve, or to keep writing. I even like it when you favorite and put alerts on my stories! I really love writing, and I want to make a career out of it someday. _

_Okay, that should be all. Oh yeah…_

_Please review! Don't let this have scared you!_

_Also, just figured out a name for the next chapter... Expect to find Chapter 5 'Sunday, Bloody Sunday' up soon!_

_*~N_CBAU~*_


	5. Sunday Boat Trip

_**I was watching Doctor Who (Van Gogh! Awesomeness!), and CM episodes 2x14 and 2x15 while writing this chapter; heavy stuff in those two (and very sad); plus I basically have 2x15 memorized… Yes, I'm weird like that… **_

_**And I know I said that this chapter would be named "Sunday, Bloody Sunday," but I made a mistake; that's next chapter... Sorry... **_

_**Also, I just realized I've been spelling the name of the lake wrong; it has an 'h' at the end, so it's Lake Tahkodah. Not off by much, but still…**_

_**And has anyone else seen the EPIC-ness that is the trailer for Deathly Hallows? **spazzy panic attack** It was AMAZING; November cannot come fast enough; I wish it was tomorrow!**_

_**Finally, nothing is mine; if it was, AJ AND Paget would be staying for the whole season… Although the addition of a new female character sounds interesting. As long a 'wrapping up' JJ doesn't mean… **gulp** …killing her.**_

….

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny, with a slight cover of clouds, causing the lake to alternate between an icy cold, gray color, and the sparkling blue of a summer's day.

Along the edge of the lake, a black pickup truck cruised around the surrounding roads, the driver playing a heavy metal soundtrack as he watched for the right moment.

A hunter, searching for his prey.

….

"I think we should be on the lookout for this guy," Rossi stressed, gesturing out toward the road leading to the lake.

The team had spent a sleepless night at their hotel, despite the wonderful evening at the cabin on Lake Tahkodah. Even though the hotel had been nicer than some of the usual places they had stayed at, there was still unrest among the BAU. And of the six agents, Reid was perhaps the most restless.

"We don't know where or when this guy will strike next," Hotch replied, pinckhing the bridge of his nose.

Morgan slammed his fist on the table. "The geographical profile says that his comfort zone is Lake Tahkodah," he countered. "The victims have all disappeared from that area, and their bodies have turned up in the lake itself."

"So he's a local," Prentiss replied. "But if he's on to us, he may go elsewhere."

"No, this lake is important to him in some way," Rossi muttered. "He feels compelled to stay here."

"But the lake itself is 152 acres across," Reid added in a monotone, his eyes fixed on the locket in his hands. "The UnSub could be anywhere. We would have to look at people in the area who drive dark-colored trucks and SUV's with Wisconsin plates, and then cross-reference those plates with the names of carpenters and wood-workers in the area. Even in a 100 mile radius that could be hundreds of people, and some of them may not even come up."

"Boy Wonder is right," Garcia quipped as she popped up onscreen via webcam. "I did just that, and quite a few names came up, but I agree," she admitted, taking a sip of coffee from her brightly-colored coffee mug. "This scumbag may not even be on the radar."

"So scouting the area would be a good thing," Rossi finished.

Hotch sighed and stood up. "Fine. Prentiss, you and Morgan check the north side of the lake. Rossi and I will watch the south side of the lake. JJ, set up a press conference with the local reporters. If this guy takes another couple, we'll need to release a statement and profile as soon as possible."

Reid looked up as Hotch and the others left the room. He was about to ask what he should do, but Morgan turned and saw him. "Kid, how about you go visit Aislinn," he suggested. "I saw you too getting cozy together, watching the sunset."

"Really?" Reid asked.

"I'm sure Hotch won't mind," Morgan admitted. "There isn't really anything to do right now; until we get another victim, you don't have to worry about geographical profiling, and Garcia's already digging deeper into your theory, but other than that, you have nothing to do."

"Morgan's right," JJ added. "Spence, it was a year before I saw Will again, and you have the chance to see Aislinn after _four months._ If I were you, I'd take this chance."

"Okay…" Reid muttered hesitantly.

As the younger man went to grab his messenger bag, Morgan and Prentiss went to the front door to wait.

"Do you think he knows we know?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I dunno. We all figured it out with JJ pretty quickly, even if she didn't catch on right away that we knew… And Reid's not that hard to profile."

"What ever happened to not profiling each other?"

It's an unconscious thing that we all do, Princess," Morgan ribbed. Prentiss smacked him on the arm as Reid came out of the station.

"What'd I miss?" he asked.

"Nothing," the other two said in unison.

….

Aislinn was quite surprised to see Spencer arrive at the cabin, his messenger bag on his shoulder, looking… guilty.

"I thought you had a case," she accused, the effect ruined due to the smile on her face.

"I do," he admitted. "I just… Well… There's no real pattern, the comfort zone is the lake and until we get another victim, there isn't a whole lot I can do at the moment."

"Sounds like my Math homework," Aislinn replied. "Only worse."

He felt a smile split on his face.

"My uncle was going to take the boat out," she said suddenly. "I was planning on tagging along. Wanna come with us?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

….

The wake from the boat thickened as it pulled away from the dock, and Aislinn's heart thundered in her chest as it sped up, her short hair blowing in the wind. She automatically reached to push it behind her ear, but remembered that it had been cut recently, and was now shorter than before.

She glanced over at Spencer, who looked at her, smiling as she smiled back at him.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" she hollered.

"This is great!" he called back. Aislinn's uncle, Tom, chuckled at the two of them. Also in the boat were two of Aislinn's younger cousins, a little freckled redhead named Maggie, a black-haired boy known as Cullen, and her older redheaded cousin Bobby.

"Let me show you something," she said suddenly, and, taking Spencer's hand, stood up, and slowly walked toward the front of the boat. _The bow,_ Spencer thought, remembering a book on boating he had once read.

The boat itself was a motorboat, a small boat with seat cushions on the chairs for the driver and passengers, and cushioned benches on the bow, where Aislinn and Reid now sat. Aislinn pointed down at the lake surface.

"Look," she said, and he did. He laughed when he saw the large bass swimming just ahead of the bow as it cut through the waves.

Then, she shifted position, and a gust of wind hit the young man full in the face. Spencer squinted as the wind blew past them, but he felt a thrill. He heard Aislinn chuckle softly.

"Close your eyes," she said.

"What?"

"Just do it," she laughed. He glanced at her, but obeyed.

"Stretch your arms out to the sides."

"Okay…" He flinched slightly; it almost seemed as though the wind had gotten stronger.

"You're alright, Spencer," she said, and he nodded.

"Now, open your eyes!"

He did (he had already been on the very front part of the boat's bow, so he hadn't needed to move), and, while in this position, he felt a soaring sensation.

"It feels like…"

"You're flying?" she asked. "Yeah. It's…"

"The speed of the boat, coupled with the direction we're traveling and the speed of the wind." He finished.

She scooted closer to him, and he felt a smile come unbidden to his lips. Her hair blew in the wind, and reminded him of the wings of birds he saw flying whenever he took the time to look into the sky, which had been a lot recently.

He sighed, wrapping his arms around her form, the sun warming their faces as the boat continued its journey around the lake.

….

Near the boat launch, a man sat in a large pontoon, watching the lake with a pair of binoculars until he spotted the small speedboat. He smiled. **Perfect,**he thought.**They won't suspect a thing…**

With that, he put the binoculars down and started his motor.

….

_A/N:The next chapter is where it'll be action-packed, I promise! And I hope you liked the little interaction between Hotch and Rossi. I couldn't resist… :D _

_If you're saw Eclipse last night (or recently), I hope you had fun! It looks pretty good, if you ask me…. I'm hoping to see it soon… But like I said, that Deathly Hallows trailer… I've been having a panic attack about that for a while!_

_Also, I found some clips of MGG from that improv show he did a few weeks ago (the one I thought was gonna be on TV, but wasn't), they're on YouTube.I saw a couple, and they're HILARIOUS! I just about died laughing! I dunno about you, but I think MGG would be an awesome SNL host…._

_Anyway, read and review! …Please?_

_*~N_CBAU~*_


	6. Sunday, Bloody Sunday

_**Here's the action!**_

_**This is the chapter called 'Sunday, Bloody Sunday." I know there were at least a few of you out for blood when I announced the name of this chapter (Sorry if I made you all out to be vampires…); hope this satisfies your thirst!**_

_**Thanks to all my reviewers, readers, and alerters… You're all AMAZING, as always! **__**Noel Ardnek, SayidRocks, Holly Sophia, harrietamidala1691**__** and everyone else! Thanks for sticking with me so far…**_

_**I own nothing… Now I'm gonna go cry my eyes out about that….**_

….

Rossi was watching the boats on the lake, a slight smile on his face.

"That," he said, "is one of the most beautiful speedboats I've ever seen."

"It's Aislinn's uncle's boat," Hotch muttered, watching it make its way around the lake. "He was telling me about it last night. It goes zero to sixty in five point five seconds." He paused, looking at Rossi for a moment. "The reason I didn't let Reid come out to patrol is because I knew he'd want to come out here to see Aislinn. I'm not surprised Morgan and JJ talked him into it."

"He needs her," Rossi agreed. "She's that outside comfort that keeps him doing this job."

"He's had that before," Hotch argued, "But I won't deny that her presence in his life has given him a bit more to celebrate, more to live for."

"Aaron," Rossi reprimanded. "What happened to you, Hailey and Jack will _not_ happen to Reid. Aislinn's a strong woman, and Reid will do _anything_ and _everything_ to protect her. She's…" he trailed off, looking over at the lake.

"As long as he doesn't end up like us," Hotch muttered, a slight smile on his face.

"There are four divorces between us, Aaron," Rossi recited. "The statistics aren't their favor, and you know that better than I do."

"Dave, be nice. I'm willing to bet he does better than both of us when it comes to juggling this job and a relationship." Hotch reprimanded. "Besides, you and I both know Reid's a gentleman."

"I believe you there, Aaron," Rossi replied, turning back to the lake, his eyes gazing out at it for a moment. "Hey, Hotch," Rossi said suddenly, a moment later.

"What is it?"

"That pontoon boat…. it's headed right for them…."

Hotch glanced out at the lake for a moment, all color draining from his face. "Call Morgan and Prentiss," he yelled, running back to the car. Rossi right behind him, his phone already in hand.

….

"So…" Prentiss asked.

"He looks like he's having the time of his life." Morgan confirmed. A second later, his phone vibrated.

"Probably Garcia," Prentiss muttered as he picked it up.

"No it ain't," Morgan muttered, looking at the Caller ID before answering. "Hotch, its Morgan… What? …You think so?" Morgan growled in his throat for a second before returning to the call. "Of course. He's probably watching _tons_ of potential victim couplings all around the lake. Why we didn't see this before…" He hung up, glowering.

"What is it?" Prentiss asked, concerned.

"The UnSub's chosen his next victims. It's Aislinn and Reid."

….

One minute the boat had been gliding over the lake, the next, a large pontoon had t-boned it, sending its passengers into the water.

Reid and Aislinn had been thrown from the front and straight into the water. Both came up spluttering and gasping.

"Can you swim?" Aislinn asked him, concerned as Spencer floundered. They were both wearing lifejackets, but they still needed to get back to shore.

"I'm fine," Spencer gasped. "I'm fine."

Immediately after capsizing the speedboat, the driver had begun circling the boaters, cutting off Spencer and Aislinn from her uncle and cousins.

"He's trying to separate us," Aislinn cried. "Why is that?"

"Aislinn, swim. Swim as fast as you can." Reid ordered. "He's our UnSub."

Aislinn began to kick. But before she could get very far, a hand reached into the water, and dragged her out. "Spencer!" she shrieked. "Spencer, help!"

"Aislinn!" he yelled, reaching for her. A second later, a hand grabbed his wrist, and he felt himself being dragged onto the pontoon. He was flung to the floor of the boat, and he crawled over to Aislinn, who was curled up in a corner of the stern of the boat, shivering slightly.

"What's gonna happen?" she whispered. He wrapped an arm around her, pressing her body into his.

"I don't know," he whispered. She buried her head in his shoulder, whimpering softly.

"I'm scared, Spencer," she admitted.

Spencer's heart froze at this realization; she'd been so strong during the time he'd known her, and she'd lived through Griggs' attack; he had realized that she may have been scared, but until now, she had never let on to being afraid.

"Me, too," Spencer whispered, squeezing her hand.

….

Morgan and Prentiss were the closest to the boat launch. They pulled in as the pontoon roared into the dock, the UnSub at the helm. He was driving with his left hand, and in his right was a gun.

"FBI!" Morgan roared, leaping from the SUV, gun out. "Drop the weapon, and let them go! NOW, you son of a bitch!"

In reply to this, the UnSub reached into the back of the pontoon and grabbed Aislinn, holding her in front of him with the gun at her throat.

"No," he hissed. "You get out of my way, and I get to do whatever I want with them."

"Let her go!" Reid's voice yelled from within the pontoon. Let her go, and take me!"

"Shut up!" the UnSub roared, digging the barrel of the gun into Aislinn's neck. She winced, whimpering slightly.

Moments later, Hotch and Rossi pulled up, shortly followed by Stalinger, Brown and the entire Cable Police Department, who immediately bolted from their cars, guns raised and pointed at the UnSub. Stalinger walked up to Hotch and whispered something. Hotch immediately nodded and slowly walked toward their UnSub, his gun lowered slightly.

"Don't come any closer!" the UnSub hissed. "I have two hostages. You wouldn't want them to die, right?"

"You're surrounded, man," Morgan replied. "There's nowhere to run."

"My agent's right," Hotch confirmed, taking another step toward the UnSub. "There's nowhere else for you to go. The lake's surrounded, you're boat's run aground, and we have your car. You can't get away."

"I can shoot them and myself," the UnSub shouted, clicking the safety of his gun off, and ramming it against Aislinn's shoulder.

"If you shoot her, then I'll kill you," Reid's voice snarled from the corner of the boat. "And I'll do it myself; don't think I won't."

"You stay there, and SHUT UP!" the UnSub roared. "Or I'll shoot you before I shoot her!"

"My team will pepper you with holes before you can even fire that thing into her!" can Reid's reply.

At that moment, the UnSub's finger tensed on the trigger, tightening its hold. "Say that again," the UnSub howled, turning toward Reid. "Say another word, and you're little girlfriend gets a hole in her pretty head."

But with his back turned, the UnSub couldn't see Morgan and Prentiss moving toward the UnSub. When he turned back and saw that they had moved closer, he jabbed the gun into Aislinn's shoulder, and she screamed.

"STOP IT!" Reid screamed. "Leave her alone! Take me instead!"

The UnSub spun around, dropping Aislinn as he pointed the gun at Reid. "Why you…"

Morgan charged, leaping onto the pontoon boat to slam into the UnSub. A second later a gunshot was heard, and Aislinn dived in front of Reid, her body shielding him.

But the shot had gone wide; the UnSub's gun had been knocked from his grasp and now lay on the carpeted floor of the pontoon. A small bullet hole in the side of the pontoon was the only indication that the gun had even gone off.

"You have the right to remain silent," Prentiss shouted as Morgan cuffed the UnSub.

"Yeah," Morgan growled. "'Cause you're under arrest for murder, kidnapping, being a shithead…"

"And a whole bunch of other things besides," Reid added, standing up. He helped Aislinn to her feet, and looked at her for a moment. "Are you…?" he began, but a second later, she threw her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"M' fine, Spenner," she murmured, her voice muffled. Her arms were wrapped around his torso and her face was buried in his chest.

Reid and Morgan each shared a knowing glance, and Morgan nodded. "Let's get you two outta here," Morgan said, nodding toward the SUV's.

Reid nodded, still cradling Aislinn in his arms.

….

_A/N: YES! And the UnSub is led away! :D …But don't think this is the end; actually, things are just starting to heat up._

_Anyway, I'm going up to the cabin this weekend (Lake Tahkodah and Cable are real places, and I have family with cabins up there). A few days of sun, sand, swimming, boating, tubing and other stuff… Plus, I'm gonna catch up on my reading. Might do some writing, too, since I'll most likely be bringing up my laptop. Next chapter should be up soon…._

_Next chapter, we find out who our baddie is, they interrogate him, and Reid faces a revelation that Hotch and Rossi didn't want him to have to face quite yet. Will our young profiler choose well? I'm guessing this story has about… two, three chapters left on it. Maybe more… We'll cross that bridge when we get to it._

_Reviews are EPIC with a side of AWESOME… like the new Deathly Hallows trailer!_

_*~N_CBAU~*_


	7. Bruised Bodies, Broken Hearts

_**The weekend was AMAZING! Wiped out on the tube TWICE, fell off a pontoon boat and got a nice bruise because of it (pretty nasty-looking, too)… and saw some AMAZING fireworks! And I got some swimming and kayaking in, too. Anyway… Back to the story…**_

_**I have an idea for a sequel (but I probably won't post it until after season six starts; it'll be taking place in a city I'm slightly unfamiliar with, and I need to do some research; I'll be there at the end of the month, actually). So… If you want that sequel, go ahead and ask. Don't be afraid to do that; I really want to write it; I feel that it's an important story in this series, and shows major growth.**_

_**I own the two pairs of Converse my mom and I bought last night at Target. I own my computer, the 2-in-1 dandruff shampoo and conditioner I washed my dog with (I couldn't find the dog shampoo, but I really like how Charlie Brown (my dog) smells like Ocean Breezes), my iPod, cellphone, and various other things. However, I do NOT own Criminal Minds. Thank you for your time.**_

….

It didn't take long for them to finish up around the lake; after their UnSub was hauled away in handcuffs medical personnel swarmed in to check up on Reid and Aislinn, pronouncing them both fit and altogether unharmed, except for a couple of sprained ankles, various bruises on their bodies, and some bruising and cuts on Aislinn's neck and shoulder.

"Do we have a name on the guy?" he heard Morgan ask Rossi as he walked toward them.

"Garcia's checking for his records now. We don't have a name yet, but Garcia said she'd call when she said, and I quote, that 'she'd nailed that evil scummy skeezeball to the wall, dug up every disgusting detail of his life, and revealed it for our sparkling eyes to see every little detail.'" Rossi reported. "So, how are you holding up, kid?" he added turning to Reid.

"M' fine," Reid muttered. "Some, ah bruises, but nothing serious."

Morgan clapped a hand to the younger man's shoulder. "We'll wrap this up; with any luck, this guy'll be in lockup by tonight, and we'll be wheels up tomorrow morning."

Reid smiled at Morgan for a moment before turning to see Aislinn, who was embracing her uncle and talking to her cousin. He watched her for a second, thinking over everything that had happened in the last four months, and through today.

He thought about her smile, her laugh. The way she made him feel warm and content. He thought about how comfortable he was around her, how easily she fit into his arms, and how her arms, whenever they were wrapped around him, made all his fears and worries vanish. He loved Aislinn, he really did. She brightened up his life, made his heart race. But he thought over the events of the past five years, the dangers he had faced as a profiler. And his fear, the fear that someday, he wouldn't come home. He'd always worried about it when it came to his mother; his worry that there would be no one to care for her if he… died… while doing this job. And now, with Aislinn… how would she deal with it if she got a call, saying that he had been shot down by an UnSub, or he had been in a car accident… But what could he do to protect her?

"Hey Reid."

He turned to see Morgan standing by one of the SUV's, and quickly made his way into the car, his mind racing. Maybe it was better this way…

Would she understand? Maybe he should just go to her before they left, explain to her…

But it would tear her apart….

And, he had to admit, it would tear him apart, too.

….

Aislinn gingerly hopped down from the ambulance onto the gravel road just beyond the small dock that was the boat launch. She was soaking wet and shivering slightly, despite the thick wool blanket she had been given by the EMT's. She noticed that Spencer was talking with his team members, a similar blanket wrapped around his shoulders and she started toward him.

"Aislinn!"

She turned to see her uncle Tom racing toward her, cousins Cullen and Maggie trailing behind him.

"H-hey," she chattered in greeting as her uncle wrapped her in a hug.

"Thank God you're alright!" Cullen cried. "That guy in the pontoon… We thought for a moment… If the police and the FBI hadn't been there when they were…" He trailed off. "You alright?"

"Fine," she stated shortly. "Just bruises a twisted ankle and stuff."

"Aunt Molly is gonna flip," Maggie pointed out. "Which reminds me, aren't you gonna talk to your FBI boy friend?"

Aislinn wheeled around in time to see the black SUV's take off behind a cop car, lights flashing and sirens wailing.

"Maybe not now," Aislinn admitted in a small voice. "He has to interrogate the bad guy first." Despite the obvious truth in her words, she felt a small, hard weight in her stomach.

He hadn't even said good-bye….

….

Morgan walked into the observation room, watching through the window as the UnSub's interrogation, headed by Hotch. Reid, Rossi and Prentiss were already inside the room, watching the scene unfold.

"Garcia's on speaker," Morgan began simply, putting the phone on the table.

"But before I speak, how's my Baby Boy?" Garcia asked sweetly.

"Just some bruises," Reid replied.

Morgan chuckled darkly. "Yeah, some bruises and wet clothes. You look like a wet puppy who just got kicked."

"All right," Garcia continued. "So your scumbag is Jason Hawthorne, age 38. No employment history, but as we saw when Stalinger, Rossi and my Chocolate God raided his rustic cabin, he worked from home, carving little wooden figurines and such. He broke up with his girlfriend, or, more accurately, his _fiancée,_ who axed the wedding and such when she caught him with another woman. According to the report, he was complimented on his boats by the other woman, and _thanked_ her for her kind words." A sigh echoed from the phone. "Disgusting dirtbag."

"Anything else, my Sweet Goddess?" Morgan asked sweetly.

"Nope, Sugar. Nothing. Just the figurines." Was the reply.

"All right, Baby Girl," Morgan said. "See you soon."

"Garcia out!"

"Yeah," Rossi added. "Little wooden figurines that looked like his victims," He emphasized his point by opening up the nearby case file to reveal pictures of said figurines, complete with matching photos. "There were also pictures of his victims doing things in town and on the lake. Every kidnapping was spur-of-the-moment; if they were doing something that gave him the opportunity to grab them, he took that opportunity."

"He was also very proud of his work," Prentiss noted, watching Hotch from the window. "He took every moment to point out how good it was."

"Especially the boats," Reid deadpanned. "The boats he was the most proud of. He never sold those to customers. All his 'lesser' works," Reid paused, sighing before he continued. "He sold all his 'lesser' works for profit, and kept the boats for friends, family."

"And his MO." Morgan finished. "Because he felt that more people should be seeing his boats, but he didn't want to sell them. So he kidnapped people who were enjoying the outdoors."

"People admiring the work of Mother Nature," Rossi continued. "And when he took them, he made them admire his work until they couldn't anymore."

"Then he killed them," Reid concluded, staring at the interrogation outside the window that was wrapping up with the exact same confession from Hawthorne.

….

_A/N: Yes… Very sick UnSub… _

_There should be another chapter after this, plus an epilogue and a playlist. And, I'm considering another sequel… You'll receive a clue for the setting and time in the timeline in the next chapter…_

_Reviews are a Strawberry Avalanche! And I LOVE strawberries!_

_*~N_CBAU~*_


	8. Some Hearts Just Get Lucky Sometimes

_**I felt kinda sad last chapter… I only got one review… Guess I deserved it, though, for what I did… :(**_

_**This will probably be the last chapter of this story… Unless you want another one. I have this poll up on my profile, and a story that can also be a chapter or a oneshot. Just answer the poll question yes or no, and if you choose yes, or maybe, choose if you want it to be an add-on chapter, or a separate oneshot. The sooner you answer, the sooner it comes up (if you want it up).**_

_**Do I own Criminal Minds? Good question… Sadly, no. Wish I did, though**_.

….

Stalinger begged them to stay for the July 4th fireworks that evening, and the team relented; they were used to being in cities far away from family and friends during America's independence celebration. As the rest of them packed up for the evening, preparing for a quick departure tomorrow morning, Morgan was ribbing Reid about a sensitive topic for the genius.

"Let me guess, you and Aislinn are gonna hang out tonight, am I right?"

Reid ignored his friend; he didn't want to talk about Aislinn right now; what he'd done was still fresh in his mind, still a fresh wound.

"Come on, man," Morgan continued. "That's what people do for July 4th; they hang with family… friends… significant others."

"Morgan, cut it out," Reid growled. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not, Pretty Boy?"

"Because," Reid muttered something else, but Morgan caught it.

"What did you do, Reid?"

He sat down in a nearby chair, head in his hands "I… I kind of broke up with her." Reid let out in a rush. "I… I kept thinking of what happened to Hotch, and I don't _want_ that to happen to her. Plus, there's the danger to _my_ life while on this job. Morgan, just about _anything_ could happen to us while we work. I've been kidnapped, held at gunpoint, drugged, shot, infected with Anthrax… I've almost _died_ at times, Morgan." Reid looked up at the older man with desperation in his eyes. "Hotch has been stabbed, Prentiss got into a car accident, JJ was hit in the head with a shovel, Elle and Garcia were shot in their own homes, Hailey died… I've always worried what would happen to my mom if that ever happened to me, and I don't want Aislinn to suffer through that, either. When we got out of the lake, I just… didn't talk to her. I just made sure she was with her uncle and that she was going to be fine and… left her there. I didn't say anything, just got in the car."

Morgan sighed. "Alright, who are you and what have you done with my man Dr. Spencer Reid," Morgan growled. "'Cause the Reid I know wouldn't give up on a girl just because he's scared to losing her, especially one who shares similar interests as him."

Reid looked up at him, confused.

"Reid," Morgan began in exasperation. "I know how you feel about this girl. It's not that hard to see that on your face. Leaving her like that… That isn't like you at all, man. If you were gonna go, you'd go and tell her. And you'd spend hours just… saying good-bye. You told me yourself, you didn't want to leave her when we were in St. Paul. So why leave now, and don't say it was for her own safety; the odds of what happened to Hailey are farther off than you think. If anything, the most likely thing to happen to your relationship would be for you to get a divorce, or for you to do this stupid stunt, kid."

"What are you talking about?" Reid asked.

"Every time you get a letter from her, you get real excited, and you yearn to tell her everything about what's happening with us that's not case-related. You spent all your free time on this case with her, and usually you go over the case files, even though you've already committed them to memory." Morgan shook his head, smiling. "Kid, she's got you high, and in a good way."

"And you're saying this because?"

"I think you should go for it." The older man admitted. "As your co-worker, as a profiler… and as a friend."

"What if she…?"

"Haven't you noticed? She's just as crazy for you as you are for her." Morgan crossed his arms and gave Reid a Hotch-like glare. "And you call yourself a genius."

Reid glared right back at Morgan for another second before bolting out the door toward the door, Morgan right behind him. "I think she's at the bookstore." He called. "Better hurry; you may not get another chance."

….

Reid ran through the streets of the small town, dodging past people, cutting through streets full of traffic. The sun was setting; a stain of purple, blue, red and orange across the rapidly darkening sky. He ran down one road to see the Redberry bookstore closing up shop, the customers and employees scattering to the four winds as they made their way to a local park down the road to see the fireworks.

Aislinn walked out of the Redberry bookstore to find Spencer running up the sidewalk. She dropped the bag full of books she'd picked up there in surprise.

"Hi," she said, a smile on her face.

Spencer smiled happily. "I just wanted to see how you were doing," he admitted.

"I'm alright," she replied. "Although I think that the next person who asks me that question is gonna get sprayed by a water pistol at my aunt's place." Reid chuckled.

"So I guess that means you're alright?"

"Just a little mad at you." She whispered. "You left without saying good-bye."

"I'm sorry," he admitted. "But I just thought… that… after today, you wouldn't want to be with someone who has such a dangerous job, and is away for so long. And I worried that you could get hurt because of me."

"Spencer," Aislinn sighed, taking his hand. "You are so noble and kind. There aren't men like that nowadays. I don't care if you have to… destroy Horcruxes and fight Dark Lords all day; all I care about is you coming home to me everyday, safe and sound, or as safely as you can."

"But…What if something… happens to me?"

"My father died when I was eighteen." Aislinn replied. "That was almost a year ago. I went into a funk the likes of which I've never known, but for some reason I managed to get out of it. Part of it was school and friends. But the other part of it didn't come along until I crashed into him on the quad at school one April morning while running late for class. If something were to happen to you, I'd cherish the memories of the happier moments of our time together, no matter how short it would be, and I would never stop loving you. Spencer, you are my saving grace. Always and forever."

By now the sun had set, and through the darkness, fireworks burst through the nighttime sky. The screams and bangs filled the sky around the two of them as they ran toward the park, down one hill, up another and along a gravel parking lot filled with cars.

They came to a stop under a building. In front of them were the members of Spencer's team, as well as Aislinn's family; the sounds of ooh's and aah's were covered by the banging fireworks, and the sounds of patriotic music, and some country songs were heard between breaks in noises.

Suddenly, an emotion the likes of which neither Spencer nor Aislinn had felt before in their lives swelled and burst inside of both of them, and Spencer, without understanding why, turned to Aislinn, whose face mirrored the feeling suddenly welled up in him.

And then, without really thinking on it, their lips met, a sort of fireworks display of pent-up feelings, hopes, dreams and excitement that seemed to last minutes… hours… perhaps days. Neither of them noticed the members of both their parties staring at them with surprise, or the cheers of Aislinn's older male cousins, or Morgan's yell of "My man!" They never saw Molly Werner's eyes widen in surprise, JJ and Prentiss high-fiving each other, or Hotch and Rossi smiling warmly.

It was just Spencer Reid and Aislinn Werner, in the land of sky blue waters.

….

"I'm telling you, Baby Girl." Morgan crowed. "They were right there, in the middle of the park, and they were glued by the lips! It was amazing; I don't think Pretty Boy's entirely recovered yet, either. He was still punch-drunk when we got back to the hotel."

They had just boarded the plane and were about to head home; last night had worn them all out. Hotch had even allowed them all to go home when they got back; it was a vacation day for everyone, and the team had more than deserved it.

Of course, Morgan wasn't the only member of the team on his phone. While Morgan reviewed the events of last night with Garcia via phone, JJ was on the phone with Quantico; it appeared that they would be taking up another case upon their return to Quantico after their short vacation, and Hotch was on the phone with Jack, who had attended the big fireworks display in DC. Prentiss and Rossi were clutching new books they had picked up in Cable.

And Reid… Well…

Morgan chuckled at the recent events that had occurred during their trip to the airport. No sooner had they arrived at the gate to board the private aircraft, Reid's phone had rang. And now…

"What week are you going to New York?" Reid asked eagerly as he, too entered the plane. "Really… If I can get away, maybe we could meet up… There's a good Chinese place in Federal Plaza… I also was wondering if maybe you wanted to… Yes! I know someone who can get us into the Natural History Museum at night, too… I know, it is a shame that it's only a movie… And a Broadway play… You can choose; Prentiss and Morgan both vouch for 'American Idiot'…."

Morgan chuckled. "Garcia, something tells me that these two will be around for _quite_ a while."

….

_But now they drift on the still water, _

_Mysterious, beautiful; _

_Among what rushes will they build,_

_By what lake's edge or pool_

_Delight men's eyes when I awake someday _

_To find they have flown away? ~William Butler Yeats_

….

_A/N: And that's the end… If you want it to be._

_Just a reminder: Go to my profile, and there should be a poll. It's a multiple answer poll, so please do the whole thing… Just answer the poll question yes or no, and if you choose yes, or maybe, choose if you want it to be an add-on chapter, or a separate oneshot. Please do this… _

_And please review. I'll post a playlist and sequel information next chapter (or the chapter after) regardless of the outcome of the poll._

_Oh yeah… Kudos and a special appearance as a character in the sequel if you can guess which Minnesota beer had "From the land of sky blue waters" in its jingle/theme song._

_Thanks for sticking with me! Hope to see you again soon!_

_*~N_CBAU~*_


	9. Next Time on Criminal Minds

I know I don't own anything, but I'm still gonna say it… "Stay tuned for scenes from our next episode….

….

Hey all! Again, I own nothing of Criminal Minds, though I'm SUPER-psyched for Season Six! It looks like they're already starting filming… I can't wait, can you?

….

Second, about the quiz on my profile… So far, it looks like the decision will be that the story/chapter will be a separate one-shot… Goody!

Just to let you all know, though, it will be a very short story… We have NO IDEA what'll happen in the season 6 premiere; I'm just assuming things based on previous episodes, finales and premieres. Plus, I like looking at the bright, sparkly side of life; I've been told I'm very much like Garcia in that sense.

….

Summary for _**The City that Never Sleeps**_

_A case in New York City involving mothers and daughters hits close to home, making Spencer realize how important Aislinn is to him._

There will also be flashbacks of the events of a weekend in Cable (unrelated to this past case in _Land of Sky Blue Waters_) that Reid and Aislinn will have throughout the story.

….

Land of Sky Blue Waters Playlist:

**Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want...She and Him** (The beginning sequence, with the couple in the woods)

**Full Moon...Black Ghosts** (Aislinn in the car on the way to the cabin, the team lands in Cable)

**Mr. Tambourine Man...Bob Dylan** (Song Aislinn is humming before she meets Spencer)

**Twilight…Vanessa Carlton** _**OR **_**Forever Young…Bob Dylan **_**OR **_**Wherever You Will Go…The Calling** (Spencer and Aislinn watch the sunset)

**A Thousand Miles...Vanessa Carlton **_**OR **_**Sweet Disposition…The Temper Trap** (The boat ride with the 'Titanic' moment)

**21 Guns...Green Day*** (Reid after Hawthorne is arrested,)

**Starts With GoodBye...Carrie Underwood*** (Aislinn after Hawthorne is arrested)

*****Either one of these songs can be used for the scene in the interrogation room, though I'd recommend Carrie Underwood.

**She's Got You High...Mumm-Ra** (Morgan talks sense into Reid, who races off after Aislinn)

**Life is a Highway...Rascal Flatts** (The fireworks, the kiss and the end scene on the plane)

….

Thanks to my reviewers… Holly Sophia, SayidRocks, NoelNessie, Noel Ardnek, and harrietamidala1691! You guys are Ah-MAZING!

….

I'm leaving for NYC on Wednesday this week, so I won't be updating or posting anything new right now. However, expect the one-shot sometime after my return, and the third story in my series, _The City That Never Sleeps_, to be started before I go back to college (September 5).

Thanks for coming on the ride, please visit the gift shop/review button before going!

Hugs and Kisses!

*~N_CBAU~*


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